Chapter Summaries

Meng Zhao, a transmigrator impersonating the Meng Family heir, reflected on his training and his new Lake-like Dantian before receiving an invitation from his second elder brother, Meng Wen. He asked his attendant Lü Yue what Meng Wen intended and whether he should attend the banquet.

• Meng Zhao practiced the Arhat Young Monk Skill and assessed his Lake-like Dantian and martial foundation.
• Meng Zhao recalled how a mysterious man trained him to impersonate the real Meng Zhao and arranged their exchange.
• Lü Yue brought Meng Zhao an invitation from Meng Wen to drink wine and admire the moon at Elegant Orchid Pavilion.
• Meng Zhao questioned Lü Yue about Meng Wen’s motives and whether he should accept the invitation.

Meng Zhao weighed Meng Wen’s banquet invitation against the need to maintain ties with his family and elders, then attended with a generous gift. The banquet ended with Meng Qinghuai’s open contempt leaving Meng Zhao wary of his intentions.

• Lü Yue advised Meng Zhao to avoid Meng Wen’s banquet, but Meng Zhao decided attending would help him gain his elders’ favor.
• Meng Zhao ordered Lü Yue to accompany him and prepare a generous gift from the Imperial Court’s rewards.
• Meng Zhao and Lü Yue arrived at the heavily guarded Elegant Orchid Pavilion, where Meng Wen welcomed Meng Zhao warmly.
• Meng Wen introduced Meng Qinghuai as a valued relative, but Meng Qinghuai barely acknowledged Meng Zhao and showed him disdain.
• Meng Zhao suspected Meng Qinghuai might know his secret, while Lü Yue watched the slight and grew cold toward Meng Qinghuai.

Meng Zhao met with Meng Wen and Meng Qinghuai, whose hostility sharpened when he presented Meng Zhao with a stone tiger meant as a warning. Meng Wen tried to smooth over the insult by unveiling a beautiful woman as his gift, but Meng Zhao used his Buddhist visualization method to resist her allure.

• Meng Wen tried to win Meng Zhao over with warm family reminiscences and praise of his new status and inheritance, while Meng Qinghuai watched with growing jealousy.
• Meng Qinghuai gave Meng Zhao a prone stone tiger, signaling that he should keep his place within the Meng Family.
• Meng Wen intervened to prevent a clash, dismissed Meng Qinghuai's gift, and presented his own surprise instead.
• A striking woman entered beneath a shower of flower petals, captivating Meng Zhao at first glance.
• Meng Zhao activated the White Bone Visualization Method and dispelled his attraction to the woman.

Meng Zhao rejected Chu Yao but accepted Meng Wen’s Jade Prayer Beads after an inexplicable urge warned him to obtain them. He left Jade Flower Garden eager to discover what was special about the beads, while Meng Wen took their exchange as a sign that Meng Zhao would not readily side with the eldest brother.

• Meng Wen offered Chu Yao to Meng Zhao, who refused, citing the need to preserve his Arhat Young Monk Skill and Pure Yang Child Qi.
• Meng Wen presented Jade Prayer Beads, and Meng Zhao felt an urgent, mysterious desire to possess them before accepting the gift.
• Meng Zhao returned a gift from the Imperial Court, reassuring Meng Wen that the second branch was unlikely to support the eldest brother.
• Meng Zhao left Jade Flower Garden with Lü Yue to investigate the beads, while Meng Wen turned to soothe the isolated Meng Qinghuai.

Meng Zhao discovered that the Jade Prayer Beads had awakened the damaged Sky-Illuminating Mirror inside him, giving him a way to spend energy on improving martial arts. He learned how the mirror had brought him to this world and found that its readout listed his physique as unknown, leaving him eager to uncover its secret.

• Meng Zhao ordered Lü Yue to quietly make Meng Wen doubt Meng Qinghuai's loyalty by linking him to Meng Xi and emphasizing how he had opposed Meng Zhao.
• Lü Yue explained that the Jade Prayer Beads were made from Mystic Jade and Ice Silkworm silk, and Meng Zhao felt them release energy that left the beads apparently unchanged.
• After dismissing Lü Yue, Meng Zhao meditated and learned that the Sky-Illuminating Mirror had carried him across worlds after recognizing his blood and was now able to awaken by absorbing the beads' energy.
• Meng Zhao discovered that the damaged mirror could analyze, deduce, and fuse martial arts when supplied with rare energy, and it displayed his current cultivation, martial arts, and 1002 energy points.
• Meng Zhao realized he could use the mirror to improve his martial arts and seek energy-bearing antiques, then wondered what the question marks in his physique entry concealed.

Meng Zhao considered the origins and varieties of Special Physiques and concluded that he needed more energy points to use the Sky-Illuminating Mirror to identify his own. Meanwhile, Meng Xi learned that Meng Zhao had visited Meng Wen and accepted a gift, and he moved to protect his claim over the family’s businesses and leadership.

• Meng Zhao reviewed the history of Special Physiques and wondered which one he might possess.
• Meng Zhao decided to save his limited energy points for later martial arts improvements and gather more so the Sky-Illuminating Mirror could reveal his physique.
• Lu Shun reported to Meng Xi that Meng Zhao had accepted Buddhist beads from Meng Wen but refused the beauty Chu Yao.
• Meng Xi ordered his people in the second branch’s businesses to lie low and told Lu Shun to inform Fourth Sister that he wanted to buy her share of the Red Leaf Ginseng and Wolfsbane Grass business.
• After Lu Shun left, Meng Xi threw down his scroll and vowed that the family-head position belonged only to him.

Meng Zhao learned about the Second Branch’s wealth, forces, and growing troubles, then resolved to build his strength and take control of its resources so he could escape the mysterious person’s control. After breakfast, he absorbed the meal’s vital essence and refined it into internal force.

• Lü Yue explained that the Second Branch controlled extensive businesses and a group of martial artists, with Lü Zhong managing its affairs.
• Lü Yue reported that Meng Xi and Meng Wen had placed people in the Second Branch’s businesses and siphoned off silver.
• Lü Yue told Meng Zhao that the Sun Family had harmed the Second Branch’s businesses, including a recent raid that killed eight guards and destroyed or stole valuable goods.
• Meng Zhao decided to use the Sky-Illuminating Mirror and the Second Branch’s resources to strengthen himself, gain the elders’ support, and free himself from the mysterious person’s control.
• Meng Zhao finished breakfast and used the Arhat Young Monk Skill to refine the meal’s vital essence into internal force.

Meng Zhao planned to investigate Meng Xi and Meng Wen’s agents and visit Zhuangzi to assert his authority over the Second Branch. He found 5,400 energy points in the family treasury and prepared to use them to strengthen himself.

• Meng Zhao ordered Lü Yue to identify the people Meng Xi and Meng Wen had planted and to gather loyal, capable men for a visit to Zhuangzi.
• Meng Zhao went to the Second Branch’s private treasury and used the Sky-Illuminating Mirror to locate antiques and treasures.
• Meng Zhao collected 5,400 energy points, including about 1,600 from an ancient bronze sword.
• The Sky-Illuminating Mirror indicated that Meng Zhao had a Special Physique, but it could not reveal its nature with the energy available.
• Meng Zhao decided to spend energy points improving his strength and headed back to his courtyard.

Meng Zhao used the Sky-Illuminating Mirror to improve his fist technique and inner cultivation, greatly increasing his combat strength. The strain of the enhancements left him aware that he would have to grow gradually and use the mirror carefully.

• Meng Zhao spent 500 energy points to raise the Thirteen Arhat Hand Forms to minor mastery and practiced the improved techniques in the courtyard.
• Meng Zhao decided to enhance the Arhat Young Monk Skill, spending 1,000 energy points and enduring severe pain and a nosebleed as new cultivation experience entered his mind.
• Meng Zhao advanced the Arhat Young Monk Skill from beginner level to minor mastery and reached the Right Concentration realm, improving his control and cultivation efficiency.
• Meng Zhao tested his inner force with a punch and found it nearly fifty percent stronger than before.
• Meng Zhao recognized that repeated enhancements placed too much strain on his mind and resolved to use the Sky-Illuminating Mirror wisely.

Meng Zhao learned that Meng Wen’s people had resigned from the Second Branch’s businesses and arranged a careful handover while preparing to visit an estate outside the city. He planned to build goodwill among the tenants as he quietly nurtured ambitions to challenge those who controlled the Meng Family.

• Lü Yue told Meng Zhao that Meng Wen’s people had resigned from the Second Branch’s businesses, and Meng Zhao ordered a cautious, orderly handover.
• Meng Zhao asked about his escort, and Lü Yue described two Postnatal Great Accomplishment experts and thirty other retainers assigned to protect him outside the city.
• Meng Zhao arranged silver for tenant families who had suffered deaths or injuries, asking Lü Yue to deliver it as a token of regard.
• After Lü Yue left, Meng Zhao reflected on the Meng Family’s ruler and the mysterious figure manipulating him, and resolved that he would not remain prey forever.

Meng Zhao prepared to leave the city for the country estate, accompanied by elite Meng Family guards and two Black Scale Horses. As his party traveled along the main avenue, the deference they received showed the Meng Family’s immense influence.

• Meng Zhao inspected the thirty guards, their Great Tao Famous Steeds, and the carriage drawn by two Black Scale Horses.
• Scarface and Wang Tao greeted Meng Zhao and outlined the route, dangers, and defensive arrangements for the journey.
• Lü Yue took the reins, and Meng Zhao’s guards surrounded the carriage as the party set out from the Western Residence.
• On the crowded main avenue, pedestrians and even wealthy travelers moved aside for Meng Zhao’s party.
• Meng Zhao listened to the crowd praise the Meng Family and watched other carriage owners yield the road.

Meng Zhao’s convoy encountered a suspicious group of starving refugees blocking the road through a purple maple forest. He ordered Lü Yue to offer them silver while keeping the guards ready to attack, and the chapter left the convoy on alert as Scarface and Wang Tao received their orders.

• Meng Zhao read the Mingyang Chronicle and cultivated in the comfortable carriage during the journey.
• Scarface halted the convoy and called the guards to arms when people emerged from a purple maple forest and blocked the road.
• Meng Zhao noticed that the ragged group included men, women, elders, and children, and suspected their appearance and actions were unusual.
• Meng Zhao told Lü Yue to have Scarface offer the group silver, but to charge without mercy if they refused to leave or approached the convoy.
• Lü Yue signaled the guards and sent two riders to deliver orders to Scarface at the front and Wang Tao at the rear.

Meng Zhao’s convoy was ambushed by attackers disguised as refugees, and Scarface and Wang Tao fought them off with help from the Meng Mansion guards. As Lü Yue urged Meng Zhao to take shelter, Meng Zhao refused and prepared to fight, suspecting the ambush had another move waiting.

• Scarface threw silver before the refugee leader, and the crowd fought over it while a dozen trained attackers rushed the convoy.
• The Meng Mansion guards fired poisoned heavy crossbow bolts, killing or wounding several attackers before Scarface and the guards met the survivors in battle.
• More than a dozen ambushers emerged from tunnels beside the rear of the convoy, where Wang Tao killed three Houtian Realm fighters with his palm force.
• Lü Yue warned Meng Zhao that stronger enemies might be nearby and urged him to enter the carriage, but Meng Zhao refused and resolved to defend himself.

Meng Zhao and Lü Yue fought off a Strange Man’s hidden weapons, but a Birdman exploited the distraction to attack Meng Zhao. As the Birdman reached him, Meng Zhao unleashed a powerful Luohan Fist strike.

• Lü Yue used his whip to expose the Strange Man, deflect his hidden weapons, and send the silver needles back into him.
• The wounded Strange Man attacked Lü Yue with plum blossom darts, drawing him away from the carriage.
• A Birdman sprang from the grass and crushed the Steel Sabers of four Meng Mansion guards, knocking them unconscious.
• The Birdman charged toward Meng Zhao, intending to capture him, while the other experts were occupied.
• Meng Zhao activated the Arhat Young Monk Skill and struck the Birdman with Cloud Peak Three Strikes.

Meng Zhao drove off Birdman during an ambush near the Purple-Leaf Maple Forest, though his right fist was injured and numb. Birdman ordered a retreat, and Meng Zhao left Lü Yue, Scarface, and Wang Tao to tend to the wounded and investigate the attackers.

• Birdman’s claw clashed with Meng Zhao’s fist, and Meng Zhao sent him flying while shattering his talons.
• Meng Zhao hid his injured right fist and challenged Birdman to identify who had sent him, while Birdman assessed the battlefield and realized the ambush had failed.
• Birdman retreated with a piercing cry, and the attackers withdrew as the Meng Mansion guards pursued them and left more enemies dead.
• Lü Yue knelt before Meng Zhao and offered to accept punishment, while Scarface and Wang Tao also pleaded guilty for failing to protect him.
• Meng Zhao told the three men to rise, tend to the wounded, redistribute the guards, clear the scene, and examine the dead for clues.

After Meng Zhao’s party defeated an ambush, he treated his hand and learned that thirteen attackers had been killed, while seven guards suffered minor injuries. The attackers’ poison capsules and precise knowledge of his route pointed to a leak within the Meng Mansion, so Meng Zhao ordered Lü Yue to arrest his suspects before the group resumed its journey.

• Meng Zhao received treatment from Lü Yue and credited his survival against the claw-wielding attacker to the Arhat Young Monk Skill and the arrival of reinforcements.
• Scarface and Wang Tao reported that thirteen enemies had been killed, seven guards had minor injuries, and none of Meng Zhao’s men had died.
• Wang Tao revealed that the attackers carried poison capsules disguised as false teeth, while Scarface described the slippery dwarf he had fought.
• Lü Yue suspected a spy inside the Meng Mansion and vowed to investigate, blaming himself for failing to prevent the ambush.
• Meng Zhao ordered Lü Yue to take two uninjured men back to arrest his suspects, then told the others to rest and regroup before continuing.

Meng Zhao traveled safely to the Meng estate and saw its farms and tenant farmers before meeting Lü Zhong, the powerful and fiercely loyal chief steward. When Lü Zhong noticed Meng Zhao’s bandaged hand and questioned Lü Yue, Lü Yue knelt and confessed his failures during the roadside ambush.

• Meng Zhao and his guards continued to the estate without further trouble after the earlier attack.
• Meng Zhao watched the estate’s farmland and tenant farmers, then arrived at the manor’s center.
• Lü Zhong, the second branch’s chief steward and an Innate Master, greeted Meng Zhao and noticed his injured hand.
• Lü Zhong questioned Lü Yue about what had happened on the road.
• Lü Yue knelt before his foster father, admitted revealing Meng Zhao’s whereabouts and failing to protect him, and asked to be punished.

After Lü Yue blamed himself for Meng Zhao’s injury, Lü Zhong disciplined him, and Meng Zhao reassured them both. Lü Zhong then recognized the attackers’ weapons and revealed that the same group had raided the Meng estate, leaving the search for them urgent.

• Lü Zhong slapped Lü Yue for his carelessness and told him to seek Meng Zhao’s forgiveness.
• Meng Zhao comforted Lü Yue and assured Lü Zhong that Lü Yue was not to blame for his injury.
• Lü Yue described the ambush and his suspicions to Lü Zhong, who examined the weapons they had recovered.
• Lü Zhong identified the weapons as matching those used in the earlier raid on the estate.
• Lü Zhong explained that the attackers had killed seven guards, burned the Medicine Field, and looted the medicine storehouse, and that he had already sent people to find them.

Meng Zhao and Lü Yue learned how Lü Zhong uncovered an estate guard’s faked death and thefts, along with evidence connecting him to Sun Chuanshan. Lü Zhong suspected Sun Chuanshan had helped orchestrate the attack, while the guard’s ties to Meng Xi and Meng Wen made the case difficult to pursue.

• Meng Zhao comforted Lü Zhong, who concluded that the estate attacks required an insider’s help and powerful backing.
• Lü Yue questioned why Lü Zhong counted seven deaths when reports listed eight, prompting Lü Zhong to explain his investigation.
• Lü Zhong revealed that an elderly former coroner had noticed one corpse did not match the estate guard supposedly killed, and that the guard had staged his death.
• Lü Zhong found that the guard had stolen valuable herbs and blamed Meng Xi and Meng Wen to keep the estate residents silent.
• Lü Zhong traced the guard’s connections to Sun Chuanshan, whose gambling debts and need for money suggested a motive to arrange the attack.

Meng Zhao questioned Lü Zhong about Sun Chuanshan’s debt and learned that the underground Black Gold Organization had suspected ties to the Demonic Path. He understood why Sun Chuanshan had dared to loot the Second Branch manor, while Lü Zhong warned him to avoid demonic forces.

• Meng Zhao asked Lü Zhong why Sun Chuanshan had borrowed heavily and whether the Black Gold Organization could threaten the Sun Family.
• Lü Zhong explained that Sun Chuanshan was an overlooked concubine-born grandson who lacked resources and had tried to settle his gambling debts himself.
• Lü Zhong warned Meng Zhao that the Black Gold Organization had powerful patrons and might be connected to the Demonic Path.
• Lü Yue questioned how the Demonic Path could still exist after its supposed destruction, and Lü Zhong described its major factions and surviving remnants.
• Lü Zhong warned Meng Zhao to avoid demonic cultivators, and Meng Zhao realized Sun Chuanshan had looted the manor to repay the organization rather than risk provoking it.